Draft Concept Paper, First Meeting of Intellectuals of Africa and the Diaspora Organized by the African Union

7/27/2019 Draft Concept Paper, First Meeting of Intellectuals of Africa and the Diaspora Organized by the African Union

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INTRODUCTION

1. The African intellect is in crisis. After a particularly flourishing period,as from the 1930s, particularly in the fields of literature and defence ofthe African identity and personality, among others, African intellectualproduction seems to have been overcome by inertia. This intellectualslackening has been attributed to various factors, such as thedemobilisation of intellectuals following the independence which for

many had been the target, repressive political frameworks established inmany States in which one-party rule had emerged as the preferred formof management of the political space, the apparent triumph of theAmerican model after the crumbling of the Soviet bloc, etc.

2. The overall result of these different factors is that the Africanintelligentsia has fallen silent, leaving plenty of room for the developmentof a pernicious Afro-pessimism upheld by self-styled Africanists. Thismarked deficit of the African intellect is paradoxical; indeed, it occurs ata time when there is a relatively more significant globalised African

intellectual elite in existence than half a century ago, from whom onewould have expected a more significant contribution to facilitate theunderstanding of a changing Africa, in which the very conditions ofthought have changed. It is in this relatively more unfavourable contextthat the elite has become mute. However, apart from the fact that it is

paradoxical, this paucity of the African intellect is a serious threat to thefuture in that it curbs Africas endogenous development process, sincethe latter must be underpinned by a complete revamping and promotionof the Continents cultural heritage.

3. In order to ward off this threat, among other objectives, the FirstMeeting of Intellectuals of Africa and the Diaspora will be held in Dakar,

from 6 to 9 October 2004. Placed under the aegis of the African Union,this meeting should mark a reawakening of the intellectuals of theContinent and the Diaspora, a reawakening deemed indispensable for

Africa to build a respectable place for itself in the comity of nations.

4. The goal of the African Union Commission, through this meeting, is acontract between the Continent and its intelligentsia, be it indigenous or

in the Diaspora. This is a crucial challenge, which, if taken up, shouldfacilitate a more substantial and better-structured participation ofintellectuals in conducting the affairs of the Continent and managing its

relations with the world.

5. Significant efforts have been deployed for the October 2004 meeting tobe scientifically fruitful. In this context, at the invitation of PresidentAbdoulaye Wade of Senegal, a preparatory meeting was held in Dakar in


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November 2003; it enabled the hundred or so participants to voice a fewconcerns that deserve to be taken up by the October 2004 meeting. Prior

to this, at the two meetings organised in October and November 2003 in

Addis Ababa by Mr. Alpha Oumar Konar, Chairperson of theCommission of the African Union, the importance of African intellectualscontributing to the structuring of the African Union was underscoredand ideas aired on the themes and issues which it would be interestingto delve into during the Dakar Conference of October 2004. On the basisof ideas developed during these deliberations/meetings and the vision of

the African Union, the present note outlines five themes that could beaddressed and discussed at the meeting of African intellectuals, namely:

- 21st Century Pan-Africanism;

- the contribution of African intellectuals to the consolidation ofAfrican integration and the African Union;

- African identity in a multi-cultural context;

- Africas place in the world; and

- Africas ties with its Diaspora.

Each of these themes is developed hereunder.

1 . 21s tCent ur y Pan -Af r ica n i sm

6. Modern Pan-Africanism was born outside Africa with the 20th Century.

It was in London, in July 1900, that Henry S. Williams, a lawyer fromTrinidad, organised the First Pan-African Conference with the aim, he

wrote, of bringing together people of African origin throughout the world.At that time, Africa did not exist as an independent entity; it had beenparcelled out into French, English, Belgian, Portuguese and German

possessions since the Scramble for Africa was launched in Berlin(1885-1886); its children were colonial subjects, its cultures belittled and

rejected as primitive, if not simply and purely negated. Pan-Africanismwas then a movement to combat the unjust and illegal oppression of

Blacks. This oppression began in the 16th Century with the Slave Trade.Violent and massive, the Slave Trade continued with colonisation, whichunleashed its military, missionaries and merchants (the 3 Ms) on this

Continent and inculcated the idea of white supremacy. In this context,Pan-Africanism was primarily the assertion of the existence of an African

identity that colonialism and the Trans-Atlantic Trade had seriouslydistorted or endangered. A re-reading of Africas pre-colonial history andsome memory work became inevitable stages, thus making it possible to


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highlight and promote an African history on which an alternative glancewas cast; with researchers such as Cheikh Anta Diop, and before him,

the bards of negritude (Senghor, Csaire, Damas), this glance was

without complex and it constituted a riposte to the contempt in whichthe continent was held. However, the Pan-Africanism of that era was notonly a matter for intellectuals who explored research avenues orlaunched literary trends. It was also a matter for political, social andeconomic players who wanted to develop, free themselves and build amore humane future where their identity as Africans of the Continent or

the Diaspora would be recognised and respected.

7. Therefore, from the outset, there was a dual movement with the Pan-Africanism of that era: one of a re-conquest/re-appropriation/recastingof history from an African matrix on the one hand, and a renaissance,

understood as a gamble with the future, on the other hand. The twomovements were obviously dialectically linked insofar as memory was toserve as the springboard to the future.

8. Is the 21st Century Pan-Africanism not in keeping with some

continuity in relation to its predecessor? Today, as in the past, is thestruggle to set the records straight not also a priority for Pan-Africanists?It is an even more absolute priority since there is some measure ofrevisionism developing, with particular regard to the Trans-AtlanticTrade. In any case, the African renaissance struggle is as much a priority

as it was a century ago, for the future that the founding fathers of Pan-Africanism dreamt of, and the vision which inspired them, are far frombeing achieved. Indeed, if political independence has become a reality,the freedom that had to accompany it is, on the contrary, far from beingso. For internal and external reasons, Africa has not changed its position

in the world and remains the dominated continent, highly dependent onthe outside world. Consequently, as it happened a century ago, Africa

must take up the challenge of acquiring goods and services andupholding social values without which the freedom expected as a rightfrom the development promised by independence will remain purely

official and illusive. After the crown of political independence granted orwon through wars Africa must now recover its jewels and manage its

resources to improve the welfare of its children (Ali Mazrui Crown &Jewel).

9. However, present-day Pan-Africanism falls within a radically differentpolitico-ideological and geopolitical context. The collapse of the Socialist

camp, the rise of the Triad and accelerated globalisation have changedthe stakes for Africa. Its leeway has been eroded and reduced and its

development has never seemed as problematic as it now is. In 1962, twoyears after independence, it was said in some quarters that Africa wasin a sorry state; what is its position today?


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10. However, in another development, for at least three reasons, there

have never been such great opportunities to rethink and renovate Pan-

Africanism, thereby making it an instrument for the liberation of Africa.

(1) The failure of nationalist/nationalism projects has madeimperative the need to steadfastly move towards economic andpolitical integration a top priority: Nkrumah wrote Africa mustunite. Current events have proven him right. An African State

that transcends the distinctive identities in favour of the commoninterest is a must for Africa.

(2) Africa, whose construction is now on the agenda, transcendsgeographical borders and cultural or racial barriers: it extends

from both sides of the Sahara; it is white and black, Arab andAfrican, continental and insular; it is a cultural melting pot wheresuccessive strata of cultures of Eurasian origin mixed withnative cultures, in other words, born on the African continent(Reference to Mbekis speech: I am an African)

(3) The concept of identity fluidity is now necessary; it is informed byPresident Abdoulaye Wades proposal that the African Diasporashould be made the sixth region of the African Union and be fullyincorporated in a new Pan-Africanist movement, a point that will

be discussed later.

11. In other words, the reflection on the significance of Pan Africanismshould necessarily take account of the transition from the quest for unityto that for union, which finds expression in the replacement of the OAU

with the African Union. It should ensure that this semantic andinstitutional evolution creates new realities marked by the gradual

eradication of all borders between African countries. This essentialreflection should also focus on the ways and means of achieving Africaspolitical unity through the United States of Africa. Of course, progress in

this direction will be quicker and easier in a more peaceful and stableAfrica. This emphasises how important it is to provide Africas highest

representatives and the various elites on the continent with ideas on theconditions whereby lasting peace and stability can be fostered in Africa.

12. In short, are the questions raised about contemporary Pan-Africanism not fundamentally different from those raised by the

initiators? It is a question of knowing who the Africans are? Where dothey come from? Where do they want to go? The new Pan-Africanism

must provide clear answers to these difficult questions in a new contextmarked by such profound changes that our traditional points ofreference, tried and tested by time, have become confused and have lost


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their clarity in the same way as our former borders have lost theirsignificance.

13. The challenge is even greater in that these answers must be part of acomprehensive approach that has not yet been completely worked out,but which should obviously avoid a double pitfall of identity introversionon the one hand and unconditional international integration, on theother.

2 . Cont r i bu t i on o f A f r i can In t el l ec tua l s to th e consol i d a t i on

o f Af r i can In tegra t i on an d th e Af r i can Un ion

14. The ambition to build a United States of Africa, in the more or lessshort term, has re-emerged from debates on the African Union. It will be

recalled that the idea strongly defended by Nkrumah in the early 1960swas not greeted with much enthusiasm by his peers, the Heads of State.Without rejecting the principle of federalism as a strategic option, thelatter preferred a more classical institutional structure, namely,development in concentric circles based on linguistic and geographical

affinities includingsome aspects inherited from the colonial era. In thisregard, the intangibility of the inherited borders was a strong referent.

15. With the inception of the African Union, the prejudices of the 1960sfaded away, although they have not completely disappeared in all areas,

and Nkrumahs generous ideas are henceforth receiving a huge responsefrom the African elite and the masses. But how could this United Statesof Africa be attained? Could a multinational, federalist model State bethought up? Tentative answers have been provided to this crucialquestion. Some contributors propose a federal State derived from the

present States; others, a confederate State from the five regionalgroupings formed by the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

Irrespective of the option envisaged, the territorial issue should bereviewed from scratch, and with it, the sacrosanct respect for bordersinherited from colonialism. But how do we reconcile the new citizenship

that must be established, or re-established in some cases, with themulti-citizenship of Africans, as the prevailing feeling of numerous

Africans from many spheres of citizenship could be called? Joseph Ki-Zerbo and other intellectuals propose a pyramidal citizenship system:

local citizenship, federal citizenship and regional citizenship. Inproposing these, they refer to a model that was used in the great pre-colonial empires particularly the Mali Empire. They emphasise the fact

that this model made it possible to concurrently establish vast spaces sub-continental, continental or even transcontinental and withdraw

into a specific space where there was autonomous management.Therefore, the idea is to integrate regionalism, federalism and


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decentralisation, reconcile the exigencies of a strong central authorityand the autonomy of the grassroots, which Ki-Zerbo calls the margins.

16. Of course, such a model, which enabled the pre-colonial empires ofWest Africa to hold out for many centuries, has its advantages, as well asdifficulties. Indeed, the problem arises as to how to articulate thedifferent levels of power and provide them with appropriate resources,how to make the current borders which will not disappear overnight as flexible as possible, how to operationalise the concept of border

countries, transform belligerent structures into prosperous centres andthe driving force behind new socio-economic, socio-political and socio-cultural configurations. Coupled with this first series of questions isanother on the internal dynamism of each State or federated entity. Thequestion arising at this level consists in knowing on what such a State

should be based. What will be the place of ethnic groups in such aconstruction? What content(s) will be given to citizenship? On whatlinguistic bases should this multinational and federalist State beestablished? What place will be given to regional languages? What placewill be given to national languages? Admittedly, these issues have not yet

been adequately addressed in the African Union and its Commission, letalone in the NEPAD framework. However, if the current and futurechallenges are to be taken up through a collective, coherent, intelligibleand legible project, efforts should be geared towards addressing theseissues and dealing with them head-on.

17. The role of African intellectuals those in the Continent and in theDiaspora is primordial in this regard. They have a special responsibilityin that the impetus must come from them, in the same way as Pan-Africanism came from a small group of intellectuals at the end of the 19th

Century, and the slogan for independence, a little later, at the end of theSecond World War. It devolves on them to create this mystical United

States of Africa and establish fruitful alliances with other symbolicproducers to keep this flame alive.

18. However, as regards creating and maintaining a mystical UnitedStates of Africa, Africas intellectuals and the Diaspora should be the

designers and key promoters of a real Global Coalition for Africa (bydrawing lessons from the successes and failures of what already exists or

by taking over the latter). This structure to lobby internationally for thecontinents development, should particularly ensure the effectiveness ofthe new partnership that Africa has proposed to the rest of the

International Community through the NEPAD.


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3 . A f r i c a s Iden t i t y i n a Mu l t i -c u l t u r a l Con tex t

19. The original Pan-Africanism was meant to be a global project in thesense that the Pan-Africanist demand encompassed all aspects of Africaand the black world that needed to be established or rehabilitated.Africa was to exist as an economic entity and its immense natural wealthwas to be developed; Africa was to exist as a political force by freeing

itself from the yoke of colonialism and apartheid; Africa was, above all, torecover or forge a cultural identity and assert it fully: therein lay theproblem of African personality. The concept of an African personality,which Afro-Americans often referred to, is wider because it is not onlyeconomic and political but also a cultural concept: African languages to

be promoted, history to be revisited, the environment to be protected,and the image of Africa and Blacks in the world to be built and restored.

20. For various reasons, the Pan-Africanist project of the early 20thCentury was subsequently somewhat fragmented and the responsibilities

for its implementation mitigated because they were shared among severalorganisations. The results achieved were uneven from one sphere or fieldto the other. Without trying to draw up the balance sheet, it must beacknowledged that Africa gained its independence from the politicalstandpoint; the Continent has been completely free in this regard since

1994, with the first democratic elections organised in South Africa.

21. In the economic field, the situation is far from encouraging, althoughAfricas announced death is more of a fantasy than a reality. In thisregard, it should be pointed out that Africa is relatively more present in

the markets than China and India and that its marginalisation is not asinevitable as some would like to think.

22. However, in the cultural field, despite the significant progress, thebattle is far from over, In the African societies and economies, a certaincultural cross-fertilisation is developing, particularly in the cities where itis embodied in youths who have maintained a complex relationship with

African traditions and Western modernism. Reconciling with the pa st, astrong assertion of ones identity, receptiveness and openness are

interwoven among this urban youth, who have little inclination to giveway to exclusivism, clear-cut opposition and the anathemas of theirseniors, adepts in the exclusive cultural africanity.

23. The evolution of these flourishing urban cultures constitutes a major

uncertainty for the future. The erosion of local cultures to the point oferadication is a possible development; it would be in line with aglobalisation that imposes the Western model through the media. In


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reaction to this globalisation/westernisation, identity reflexes couldcrystallise and take the form of an introversion generally acknowledged,

to be neither desirable nor in keeping with the African spirit. On the

other hand, it is agreed that no population ever developed exclusivelyfrom the outside, that one develops by drawing from within the elementsof ones own development. The most desirable path today is the dialecticof entrenchment and openness to which Csaire gave political expressionin extolling the virtues of an Africa entrenched but open to all currents.It is the path already trodden upon by a few creators, which will enable

Africa to give full vent to its creativity and contribute to a constructivedialogue between cultures and peoples for a more stable, just andresponsible world, in short, a more humane world.

24. Granted that there is a strong will to tread this path, it would still be

necessary to formulate and implement real cultural policies, buttressedby solid material and logical bases which are sorely lacking today. Ki-Zerbo talks about infrastructuring culture. Real cultural industriesshould be created and developed in Africa; many of them should have aregional character not only to survive but also to carry African messages

to other continents/markets, where it is even more difficult to assertAfricas cultural presence than its economic presence.

4 . A f r i c a s p l ace i n th e wo r l d

25. After a glittering past, Africa is currently going through a difficultpresent and its future is hazy and uncertain. Afro-optimists and Afro-pessimists have for a long time contested a free-for-all market. To thelatter, Africa has been neglected and will continue to be so because it is

insignificant and, above all, it is killing itself with the aid it receives fromits partners. To the former, Africa will save the world because it is a

reservoir of spirituality, etc. For some time now, a new trend has beendeveloping around two key ideas, the fact that:

(1) the future is being prepared and planned, in reaction to the credoof the invisible hand and free for all market;

(2) Africas future will depend on what Africans will or will not donow.

26. This trend, which finds expression in what is sometimes referred toas Afro-responsibility has inspired many initiatives, the most recent of

which are African renaissance embodied by President Mbeki, and theAfrican Union, which came into being at the dawn of the 21st Century. In

any case, an immense task awaits the inspirers of these initiatives.


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27. Indeed, for this renaissance to become a reality, three conditionsmust be met. First, it is necessary that the vision of the world

underpinning the said renaissance and the scenario thereof are coherent

and feasible, that is to say within the realm of possibilities. But what isthis realm of possibilities? The answer to this question calls for an in-depth prospective reflection. Secondly, the largest possible number ofsocial and political stakeholders must embrace the scenario adopted.There is a need for collective imagination that will transform peoplelinked by the vagaries of history and geographical constraints into inter-

dependent societies in their efforts to build a future characterised byfreedom, desire and action. African societies must be convinced aboutthe fact that African renaissance is within their reach; thatnotwithstanding the real difficulties it faces, Africa has indisputableassets. Thus, to occupy its rightful position in the international arena,

Africa must not only develop its immaterial wealth but also make full useof all of its natural resources. This is contingent on its effective entry intomodernity, hence, the need for promoting science and using researchresults based on a sound correlation between research and development.In this regard, it would be advisable to revisit the conclusions of the

Conference that the Men of Science held in Brazzaville in 1987.

28. Africa has many other and these include:

- the awareness of African political leadership, for the

continent has no future without a real and total integrationprocess;

- the possibility of making maximum use of the key positionsheld by Africans and diasporan Africans in the international

civil service, the academic world, the private sector and inthe civil society;

- the critical mass of resource -persons (from the continent, thediaspora and the international civil society) capable of and

willing to contribute to Africas development;

- convergence among the forces behind the global socialmovement in their advocacy for greater justice, ethics and

solidarity in international relations;

- the continents strategic position in the cultural dialogue for

a more stable, just and responsible world.

29. Finally, there is a need to create the conditions for genuinepartnership, especially since Africa has decided to henceforth


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promote this type of co-operation after the aid-grant binomial hasshown its limits. The major expression of this strategic option

consists in the creation of the NEPAD, whose implementation, likethat of the African Union, must be addressed at the Conference ofintellectuals.

30. Generally speaking, partnership has its exigencies, and one ofthem is to remove all artificial barriers between the so-called

African problems and the world or global problems. Admittedly,debt, HIV/AIDS, economic integration or subsidies to farmers are ofprime concern to Africa, which must definitely have a say on these

issues that hamper its development. Nevertheless, it cannot shyaway from topical global issues such as environment, the war

against terrorism, and human rights. There is a need to forgestrategic partnerships on all these issues. It behoves theConference to consider how such partnerships can be forged, with

whom and on the basis of which guidelines.

31. It is quite logical that diasporan Africans should be taken on board,and indeed be allowed to play a leading role in the establishment of suchstrategic partnerships.

5 . A f r i c a s t i es w i t h i t s d i a spo ra

32. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade depleted the African continent of itsmost youthful populations. It also created large black communities

across the Atlantic, in North America, in the Caribbean and in SouthAmerica. At thousands of kilometres from its cradle, one discovers inthis part of the world the presence of an African culture embodied bymen and women uprooted from Africa, oppressed and exploited as slaves,who, despite the hardships in the plantations, had succeeded in

preserving precious components of their cultures over generations. Theterm diaspora refers to this population.

33. Some of them, like Marcus Garvey, George Padmore and WilliamDubois, had played a leading role in the Pan-African struggle. Their

descendants will be very delighted to contribute to a new Pan-Africanmomentum for, as in the past, only a strong and resolute Africa canfacilitate their struggle.

34. In the common language, however, diaspora is increasingly used todesignate migrants who chose to live outside the continent for a more orless long period of time: workers of all categories, intellectuals,

sportsmen and women, as well as artists. There are millions today who


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cannot remain indifferent to Africas plight. The heart, but also reason,dictates that they should be given the chance to serve as Africas

ambassadors in the countries where they have settled and that

conducive conditions should be created in Africa to enable them to investpart of their savings in development activities.

Expected Results

35. As regards the expected results of the Conference, it could be

proposed that the Conference provide ideas that could contributetowards ensuring:

1) the remobilisation and renewed commitment to a really operationalGlobal Coalition for Africa;

2) the mobilisation of leaders and decision-makers at the level ofgovernments, the private sector, as well as the scientificcommunity of Africa and its Diaspora, to promote Science andtechnology for development;

3) the establishment of peace, democracy, good governance andrespect for human and peoples rights on sound foundations;

4) the political organisation and integrated economic development of

Africa, based on the institutional foundations of the African Union,NEPAD and the regional economic communities;

5) the identification of the underlying factors of shared identity thatwill provide a sound basis for African references, symbols and

representations as well as the intellectual springboard to moralrecovery and rearmament.

Documents

Draft Concept Paper, First Meeting of Intellectuals of Africa and the Diaspora Organized by the African Union